The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A popular way to barbeque food makes use of lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes as a heat source. The heat sources may be ignited and allowed to burn for a period of time after which the embers may be used to smoke cook the food. Unfortunately, traditional methods for igniting charcoal require the use of an igniting fluid or similar aid to burn for a sufficiently long time for the charcoal to ignite. Fumes from the igniting fluid may penetrate into the food, thereby degrading the taste. Moreover, the igniting fluid may be a pollutant, and is a dangerous combustible.